Devices for securing hoops



5 17, 1968 BR|TZ DEVICES FOR SECURING HOOPS Filed April 21, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet l Dec. 17, 1968 E. BRITZ DEVICES FOR SECURING HOOPS 2 Sheets-Sheet z Filed April 21, 1966 United States Patent 3,416,576 DEVICES FOR SECURING HOOPS Ernesto Britz, Brooklyn, N.Y. (18 Calle 0-45, Zona 1, Guatemala City, Guatemala) Filed Apr. 21, 1966, Ser. No. 544,252 4 Claims. (Cl. 140-93.2)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A device for uniting the overlapped ends of metal or similar straps or hoops about a packing case or other object and which consists of clamping means for holding ends of the straps or hoops in overlapping relation. The device is provided with two interchangeable sets of dies, one of the sets being effective to punch out tongues from the hoop and create an interlock at the overlapped ends, and the other set of dies being effective to split parts of a joining plate and fold said parts around the overlapped part of the hoop thereby holding said ends against separation.

This invention is related to an apparatus for securing hoops, based on a constructive concept aimed at offering a functional unit capable of securing hoops without the necessity of using pliers as in the case of current devices, the result being an improved constructive arrangement of the apparatus referred to herein.

The devices to which reference is made in the case under review comprise a carrier base for movable components constituted by a series of three levers, one of which represents the driving means of a member carrying the cutting blades to be driven, by means of same, against the superposed ends of the hoops to be united in such a way as to gird the objects that are to be secured wit-h hoops, as for instance packing cases and such like; the other one of the said levers constitutes the driving means of a roller provided with a milled revolving surface against the superposed ends of the hoops lying on the carrier base, and the third lever constitutes the tension member of the hoops which are to gird the said objects.

The apparatus object of the case under review contemplates among its inherent improvements, a characteristic functional constructive arrangement, which comprises the following factors of a constructive and functional order, i.e.:

Vinculating the carrier member of the cutting blades with the lower end of a control spindle by means of a crank fixed to the upper end of same, the said spindle being displacea'ble vertically towards and/or in opposite direction with respect to, the carrier base, due to an interplay of screwing and unscrewing, respectively.

Adapting the apparatus for an operative process of secun'ng hoops to objects which are to be girded by hoops, regardless of buckles, clasps and/ or directly by reciprocally locking the ends of the said hoops superposed and placed around the said objects.

In order to adapt the apparatus to the ends specified in the preceding paragraph, providing on the carrier base a coupling area having an interchangeable character, for dies placed coaxially with respect to the cutting and fastening blades for the superposed ends of the hoops, a total of two dies being provided, one for fastening by means of buckles or clasps and the other one for securing by means of the reciprocal locking of the superposed ends of the hoops.

In accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1: Is a side elevation of the apparatus including the improvements constituting the subject of this invention.

FIGURE 2: Is a plan view of the whole assembly constituting the apparatus shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3: Is a side elevation of a fragmentary detail of one of the levers constituting the apparatus.

FIGURE 4: Is a plan view showing in a fragmentary manner the zone of the carrier basis on which the dies are placed.

FIGURE 5: Is a lengthwise sectional elevation of the detail of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 6: Is a view in perspective of the die adapted for securing hoops by reciprocally locking the superposed ends of the said hoops.

FIGURE 7: Is a sectional elevation of the die shown in FIGURE 6, jointly with the cutting and fastening blade shown above it.

FIGURE 8: Is a by fastening of the of a buckle.

FIGURE 9: Is a cross-section of the detail of FIG- URE 8, effected on the buckle.

FIGURE 10: Is a plan view showing the joining of the superposed ends of the hoop effected by reciprocal locking of same.

FIGURE 11: Is a lengthwise section through the detail of FIGURE 10.

In accordance with what was duly specified and especially shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, the apparatus to which the improvements constituting the object of this invention are applied, comprises a carrier base 1, from whose marginal area adjacent its rear end a back 2 protrudes, to the upper end of whose front a head 3 is fixed by means of appropriate mechanical means, against the upper side of which head is fixed a plate 3, having a thickness substantially equal to half the total thickness of the head 3.

At the rear portion of the back 2 a lever 4 is adjusted by contact with its front side, the said lever 4 being mounted at one of the ends of a transverse axle 5, on which is mounted a roller 6 provided with a milled revolving surface and adjusted against the front side of the said lever, through which the said roller is displaced towards and/or in opposite direction with respect to, a disk 7 (FIGURES 1 and 4) embedded in the carrier base 1 and arranged on a level with its upper face, the said disk having a grooved surface, adapted for girding objects with hoops by pullingone of the ends of the said hoops against the other one.

The axle 6 carries fixed to its end opposite to the end which carries lever 4 a complementary lever 8, constituting the means transmitting the rotating movement to the roller 6 in order to allow the process for girding objects which it is desired to secure with hoops, while at both ends of the lower marginal edge of the back 2 are included respective butts 9 which act as guides of the ends of the hoops to be joined together and are displaceable by frictional contact with the same.

The lever 8 is provided, in known manner, at its end connected to the axle 5 (FIGURES 2 and 3) with a ratchet wheel 8a, fixed to one end of the said axle, which wheel 8a engages a pawl 8b angularly pivoted on in a fulcrum 8c, the said pawl being pivoted on with a heli coidal expansion spring 8d interposed between the rear end of the said pawl and the fulcrum 8c, and inserted in a seat 8).

The head 3 and the supplementary member 3 carries a threaded spindle 10 vertically placed with respect to the carrier base, the said spindle carrying a member 11 interchangeably fixed to its lower end, carrying the cutting and fastening blades 12, the carrier member 11 of which is fixed to the said lower end of the spindle 10 by means of a bolt 13 and a retention nut 14.

The carrier base 1 is provided in the area of its upper side coaxially coinciding with the cutting and fastening plan view showing the joint effected superposed ends of a hoop by means blades 12, with a cavity 15 (FIGURES 4 and 5) in which is inserted and interchangeably fixed a die a, constituted by a grooved member having the transversal section of half a rod, provided at points along its longitudinal edges near its ends, with notches 16, confronting each other in pairs, with which notches coincide the cutting and fastening blades in order to allow of the cutting and securing of the buckles 17 and the subsequent securing of same against the ends of the hoops 18 which are to be joined together in the manner shown in FIGURES 8 and 9. The interchangeable fixing of the die a to the cavity 15 is effected by means of bolts 19 having a prism-shaped head 20, which is level with the mouth of the cavity, the said head acting as a guide surface for the displacement of the superposed ends of the hoops which it is desired to join together.

The spindle carries fixed to its upper end (FIGURE 1) having a prism-shaped section in the manner of an inverted truncated pyramid, a hand-operated crank 12, constituted by two diverging arms 21 having spherical ends 22 acting as handles.

In accordance with the aforesaid, the apparatus is adapted for the together of superposed ends of hoops, once they are placed around the objects which it is desired to gird, by reciprocal locking of the said ends. To this end, the die a is substituted by a die c, which consists of by a grooved member having the transversal section of half a rod, from whose longitudinal edges project individual flanges 23, the said flanges constituting the adjustable support zone of the said die on the said mouth of the cavity of the carrier base 1, and with the convex surface of the said die interposed with respect to a cutting and fastening blade 24 (FIGURE 7) which will be fixed to a carrier member, not shown in the accompanying drawings, adapted to be fixed to the lower end of the spindle 10.

The die c is provided with a lengthwise notch effected on its symmetry axle, which notch develops in two end stretches 24-24 having a larger length and cross-section than an intermediate stretch 25, the rear stretch 24' ending in a prolongation 26, having the same transverse width as that of the intermediate stretch 25, the said die including on its convex surface, at a point of the same near its front end, a transversal rib 27, by means of which the required curve is imparted to the superposed ends of hoops which it is desired to join together by reciprocal locking, in order that the edge 18' of one of the joined ends of the hoops does not protrude with respect to the upper side of the end of the said hoops on to which the opposite end is superposed.

The cutting and fastening blade 24 is provided with a lower edge following a development in two stretchessemi-circular and convex 28, FIGURE 7, and a central concave stretch 29. This development corresponds to the stretches 24-24, 25 and 26 of the die b, in order to effect the partial cutting of the superposed ends of the hoops, once they are placed around the objects it is desired to gird, forming reciprocal locking lugs 30 and 31 shown in FIGURE 11.

In FIGURE 5 of the accompanying drawings, a bolt 32 is shown which will be unscrewed when the die 0 is applied o su an e te h t its 4 o t ct t e Co ca e surface of same, wherewith its correct position on the carrier base 1 is assured.

It is understood that with the die a, the superposed ends of the hoops can be joined, indistinctly with buckles 17 or clasps having identical U-shaped cross-sections as the said buckles, but shorter which will fix the said die in the desired position.

What I claim is:

1. An apparatus for joining the overlapped ends of a hoop or strap around an article comprising, a base, a vertical spindle arising from the base and vertically adjustable therethrough, a blade carrier mounted at the lower end of the spindle, cutting and fastening blades for the overlapped ends of a hoop, borne by the carrier, a handoperated crank at the upper end of the spindle, the base being provided in its upper surface with a die-receiving cavity, one of a pair of removable dies mounted in the cavity, said die co-operating in folding a joining plate around the overlapped ends of the hoop, said die being transversely arcnate in shape and having its cavity directed toward the blades, and a reversely curved die for substitution for the first-mentioned die, said reversely-curved die then having its convex side directed upwardly, and a punch substitutable on the spindle for the blades, said punch being co-operative with the reversely-curved die in punching out elements from the overlapped end parts of the hoop and cause locking of the said end parts together.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the spindle is threadable through a part of the base, the spindle being provided at the top with divergent arms terminating in ball-ends, the spindle and its arms forming a Y-shaped element.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the die which applies the joining plate around the overlapped ends of the hoop consists of an arcuate plate fitted in the cavity in the base, said die being notched along opposite side edges so that split parts of the joining plate are forced through said notches by the fastening plates and are folded around the edges of the overlapped ends of the hoop.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the die which forms tongues out of the overlapped portions of the hoop is arcuate with a convex surface facing upwardly, said die being provided with a central longitudinal slot, said slot having a substantially narrow central portion and a wider portion at one end, the central portion entering at its opposite end into a wider portion having a projecting narrow part beyond it, whereby two separate tongue portions will be forced out of the hoop by the punch in co-operation with the die.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,040,576 5/1936 Timmerbeil -932 2,087,655 7/1937 Prestwich 140-932 2,560,456 7/1951 Kuoni 140-93.4 3,241,579 3/1966 Partridge 140-932 CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner. L. A. LARSON, Assistant Examiner.

US Cl- .X-R 81- -1 

